History of Ice
by MoonDrake
Summary: What was Hitsugaya Toushiro like before he was a captain? Follow him as he trys his best to keep his true power hidden and leave the responsibility of a captain to some other unfortunete soul.
1. Acadamy

"Shiro-chan, wake up, wake up

Okay, my first Bleach fanfic that's not an oneshot! This has some spoilers from the special manga chapter about Shiro. But that is the only Bleach Manga chapter that I have ever read. So if there're are more spoilers in here, I don't know. I know, how could I not have read the manga!? Don't worry, I'm working on it. I'm starting the first chapter right now!

Also, any names that you see that are OC's, I suck at coming up with names. Also if the names are from other characters, I forgot, so please tell me if you recognize the names.

………………….

"Shiro-chan, wake up, wake up!" An excited voice squealed. "Come on Shiro-chan, it's my first day at the academy, come on!"

"Bedwetter Momo, why the hell do I have to get up, you're the one leaving." A grumpy voice responded from under the covers.

"Don't you want to wish me luck and spend one last morning with me?" She pouted.

Groaning, a white-haired child pushed the blankets away. He yawned…then glared. "It's not like you're going to be gone forever you know. Like you said before, you'll still come visit."

"I know, but this is the last time that we can spend a morning together before I become a shinigami!" She replied, unfazed by the death glare. "Please, Shiro-chan."

"Quit calling me that." He retorted, pulling himself out of bed.

"I'll only stop calling you that when you join the academy." She answered, running out to the kitchen.

Following, he yelled, "Why would I want to go to that stupid place?"

……………………..

Toushiro sat on the porch, biting into the fresh watermelon. 'Hmmm, it's been five years since Bedwetter Momo left.' Indeed it had been five years. Being extremely busy with academy life, she had only been able to visit a total of six times.

Not that he would ever admit it, Toushiro actually missed his 'sister'. Bedwetter Momo was actually the closest thing he had to a friend. Everyone else thought that he was a freak because of his white hair and 'scary' eyes.

Finishing the last piece of watermelon he got up and walked back into the small house. His granny was at the kitchen, mixing ingredients together for dinner.

"Oh, Toushiro, can you please go down to the market and get a couple leeks and green onions?" Granny asked with a smile.

Unable to say no even if he wanted to, he nodded.

He slowly made his way down to the market, a small shop that carried some vegetables, a couple fresh fish and some day old fruit. Selecting the wanted vegetables he took his items up to the scowling shop owner.

Toushiro pulled a few bills out of his pocket and handed it to the man. He held out his hand for the change, but the man rudely dropped the money onto the counter. Sighing in annoyance he gathered the money up and grabbed his purchases. He turned only to find his face shoved into an orange-haired woman's large breasts.

Spluttering in surprise he fell backwards onto the bottom. Looking up at the woman, he noticed she was angry.

"Is that how you treat all of your customers! Dropping the change on the counter when he had his hand out?!" The man cowered under the fierce stare.

Then the woman turned to the boy that was currently picking himself off the floor. "And you, that man was being rude, why did you just accept it and tur-" She paused and stared at the boy.

Not waiting for an explanation, Toushiro grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

Several minutes later, Toushiro walked into the house and handed Granny his purchases. Thanking him, she took the offered vegetables and started chopping them into the pot.

Toushiro stepped out the door onto the porch, deep in thought. 'Who was that woman. Why did she stare at me like that?'

"Oi, kid!" Toushiro whipped his head up and came face to face with the same woman's chest…again.

Deeply annoyed and confused he yelled at the strange woman. "Why the hell did you follow me!"

"Kid, you need to join the shinigami academy."

"Nani? No, I don't need to join anything!" He snapped irritated.

"Do you hear a voice in your mind, in your dreams?" She asked, unfazed by his outburst. Toushiro paused, his eyes widening slightly.

"Kid, you have too much spirit energy. If you don't learn to control it, you're going to end up killing you granny." Toushiro stopped breathing. All that this lady said was true. He heard a voice, he saw how his granny seemed to grow weaker and weaker each day.

"I'll return tomorrow, whether you actually come with me or not is up to you, but for the sake of your granny…you should come." And with that, Matsumoto Rangiku left, leaving a scared, confused boy behind.

…………….

"Well, we're here!" Matsumoto yelled cheerfully. Toushiro absently fiddled with his new uniform. It was slightly too large, but not incredibly noticeably so. His narrowed green eyes quickly took in the large building.

Matsumoto grabbed his thin wrist and dragged him across the courtyard, stopping in front of an instructor. "Hello Ibisu-san!" Matsumoto called.

"Hello Matsumoto-san, who do you have here?" Ibisu greeted, giving Toushiro a skeptical look.

"A new student! This is Hitsugaya, Toushiro. He's pretty much overflowing with reitsu so I brought him here." Matsumoto replied.

"I see. Okay, please come with me Hitsugaya-san. See ya, Matsumoto-san." Ibisu relied hesitantly. He started walking to the large building. Toushiro following reluctantly behind.

"Ja ne Ibisu-san, Toushiro-kun!" She yelled after them, before shunpoing back to her division.

"Okay, Hitsugaya-san, you'll be joining the other first year students. At the academy, you will take a five year course, learning kido, swordplay and other studies. Please, come to me if you have any problems." Ibisu explained.

Toushiro bowed respectfully, "Thank you Ibisu-sensei, I'll try my best." Ibisu stopped in front of a classroom.

"You know, I have a strange feeling about you. You're going to do very well as a shinigami. Good luck." And with that Ibisu strode quickly down the hall.

Toushiro took a deep breath. Slowly he reached toward the door. Opening the door, he stepped in.

The teacher at the front of the room paused. "Ah, you must be Hitsugaya, Toushiro." Seeing his puzzled look she explained, "News travels fast here, especially with the hell moths flying around."

"You may take a seat over there. I'm Kikura-sensei." She said, pointing to an empty seat next to a brown-haired boy. He had black eyes and appeared to be about eighteen.

Toushiro quickly made his way to his seat. The boy next to him ignored him and was listening half-heartedly to the teacher's lecture.

Toushiro sighed. 'Who would've thought that I'd actually end up in the academy.'

……………………..

"Hitsugaya, Toushiro please go to Ibisu-sensei's office." Kikura-sensei said, letting the hell moth flutter away.

Toushiro walked briskly down the hall. It had been two months since he had joined the shinigami academy. He had a natural talent for swordplay and caught onto kido very quickly. He passed every test given with flying colors.

Reaching the office he knocked. "Come in." A voice from within called. The man at the desk looked up to see who was there. A large grin crossed his face. "Ah, Hitsugaya-san!" He greeted.

Toushiro bowed. "You wanted to see me Ibisu-sensei?" He asked.

"Hai. In the last two months that you have been here, you have exceeded expectations. Your swordplay is already at fourth year level, at least. Your kido is excellent, better than a third year's. To get to the point…I want you to move from level one to level four. The only thing you would need to learn is the history studies, but I have textbooks that you could read."

Toushiro blinked in surprise. He had heard of some students skipping one grade, every now and then two, but three! Unheard of!

"Tomorrow, you'll be joining the fourth year students in the courtyard for kido practice and sparring."

Unable to speak from the shock, Toushiro merely nodded. "Great!" Ibisu exclaimed. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Toushiro walked out of the office, and slid down to the floor. "Fourth year?!"

…………………

That night Toushiro wearily made his way to his room. He had done some training on his own, trying to perfect his already perfect kido. He had figured out how to do Destructive Art Four: Shot of Red Fire without speaking the incantation. He hoped that this would be the kido that they would be practicing tomorrow.

He didn't want to be labeled as a 'know it all' or 'cocky little teme' but he also didn't want to be known as a little brat who bribed the teachers to let him into fourth year. Although he doubted the teachers could be bribed into anything.

Finally reaching his room, he undid the lock and pulled off his uniform. Quickly changing into his sleeping clothes he wearily fell into bed. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

……………….

Toushiro looked around in confusion. 'Where was he?' Around him was a barren land, covered in ice. The sky was black, but oddly it didn't seem dark. The ice glowed in shades of blue, white, and some light purple.

He started wandering aimlessly, searching for anything other than the empty ice. He stopped when he came across a strange icy boulder. He sighed and dropped down, sitting with his small back against the boulder.

It wasn't a boulder.

A great rumbling roar echoed through the icy landscape, causing large cracks to form around him. Toushiro leapt to his feet, jumping away from the creature. Turning to stare, he watched as the 'boulder' unwound itself slowly.

A large snake-like body uncurled itself, icy scales flashing. A long, sinuous neck rose from the mass. The snake shot toward the boy, coiling around the shinigami. The coils never touched the boy, but they formed a loose circle around him. The great neck rose into the air, showing a large, proud head.

Sharp teeth glinted and spikes grew from the face. Bright red eyes assessed the boy. The last thing Toushiro noticed, where huge, icy wings. A dragon.

"I've been waiting for you." The voice seemed to surround him, coming from no certain direction. The dragon never opened its mouth.

"Who are you?" Toushiro asked bravely.

"I am your zanpaktou,--." His name didn't reach the boy's ears. Of course he had been expecting this. He had learned at the academy that you had to earn the right to hear your zanpaktou's name.

"Why am I here?" Hitsugaya asked. After he had found out that this was his zanpaktou's spirit, he suddenly felt at ease. He felt safe here with his zanpaktou.

"You tell me." The dragon answered. Before the boy could ask again the dragon spoke, "Our time is almost up, but don't worry, we'll meet again, soon."

Before Toushiro could say another word he felt himself being pulled away.

………………

Toushiro's eyes shot open. Sunlight streamed through the window. Shaking off the memories of his encounter for later, he quickly made his way to the bathroom. He splashed water over his face from the small tub. He grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat off his body.

Emerging from the bathroom, he pulled on his uniform and grabbed his zanpaktou. He felt a small chill run up his arm when he touched the katana.

'Soon'.

………………….

So this is my new story, hope you'll enjoy it! R&R please! Next chapters just needs to be edited, so coming soon! -MoonDrake


	2. Test

Toushiro stood and grabbed his zanpakto, slinging it over his back

Okay this chapter skips ahead to after Toushiro graduated the academy. He was only in the fourth year class for a couple months before he was pushed ahead again. He ended up completing all five years in one. He achieved shikai, training by himself, two years before he graduated. No one knows that he can do shikai.

………………………………

Toushiro stood and grabbed his zanpakto, slinging it over his back. Sighing he quietly left the small room and shunpoed to the nearest gate leading out of the Court of Pure Souls.

"Hello Jidanbou." Toushiro called as the gate was slowly lifted.

"Well, hello there, Shiro-kun!" Jidanbou answered cheerfully. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed slightly at the nickname, but he let it pass, knowing Jidanbou would just laugh at the correction. "Doing some more training?" The large gatekeeper asked. Toushiro nodded and proceeded toward a heavily wooded area where he wouldn't be disturbed.

"Ja ne." Hitsugaya waved, not bothering to turn around. Jidanbou chuckled and dropped the gate.

………………..

"Reign upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" Toushiro called out, swing his sword around. Ice erupted from the blade, forming a large dragon. Icy wings spread wide as it raced through the sky.

Toushiro's reiatsu started spilling out of his body, and his eyes started glowing a ice blue. Raising his sword in front of him he called, "Bankai!"

Ice started creeping along his body, covering him. An icy claw was formed over his hand, while ice sprouted from his sword hilt in the other. A long twisting tail formed behind him. Finally a pair of large wings burst from his back. Ice formed over the entire training area, freezing everything in sight.

Three four-petal ice flowers appeared above Hitsugaya, showing how long his bankai would last.

Smiling in triumph the prodigy let his bankai crumble and he fell to his knees.

Hitsugaya Toushiro had reached bankai.

Several minutes later, Toushiro pulled himself to his feet and looked up into the sky. "Kuso!" He swore, seeing the sun already high in the sky. He shunpoed back to the gate to find Jidanbou already lifting the gate for him. Smiling gratefully he shunpoed to the thirteenth division.

Quickly he raced to the mess hall. Upon entering many turned to look at him. One of these few smirked and lazily stood. "So the child prodigy finally graces us with his presence."

Toushiro ignored him and proceeded to grab his breakfast. Not liking being ignored, the shinigami grabbed Toushiro's arm and spun him around to face him.

"Hey, don't ignore me you little brat. You think you're so great just because you finished the academy in a year. Well, too bad, you're still weaker than anyone else here."

"Shut up Shinta." Toushiro responded, temper rising. The room temperature started dropping dangerously.

"Why should I listen to a stupid little brat? I bet you couldn't even put a scratch on me." Shinta boasted. "You know, I bet you couldn't even last more than one hi-" Silence reigned in the mess hall. Toushiro slid his blade into his sheath.

"You were saying." Toushiro smirked. Shinta wiped away the blood on his cheek glancing at it in disbelief. A long scratch ran across his right cheek, drops of blood slipping out.

Overcoming his shock Shinta started shaking with rage. "Why you little brat!" He lunged forward, only to fall right past Toushiro as he sidestepped.

"That's enough!" Everyone went still as the thirteenth division captain strode into the room. Ukitake Juushiro came to a halt in front of Hitsugaya and Shinta.

"Shinta, quit attacking our newest member." Ukitake said calmly. He turned to Toushiro. "Are you okay?" Toushiro nodded finally releasing Shinta from his death glare.

"Shinta, if you truly want to attack Toushiro, you must do it during training. Although I have a feeling you would be in for a big surprise." Ukitake said with a smile. He turned and walked toward the door. "Training exercises in ten minutes."

"You're going to get it today, brat." Shinta hissed, stalking out after his captain.

"I'd like to see you try." He grumbled to himself.

……………………….

"Okay, team up! Freestyle sparring today!" Juushiro called out to his subordinates. A small cheer went up at his words.

Toushiro walked toward the other side of the field and watched as everyone paired up and started striking at each other. Sensing a swing from his left, he quickly brought Hyourinmaru out and barely blocked the other katana.

"Payback time, brat." Shinta growled. Toushiro sighed and started blocking the powerful swings. Shinta started getting frustrated as he realized that all of his swings were easily being blocked. Angry he called out his shikai. "Bite, Matsuri!" His sword transformed, the blade changing into a long chain. Along the chain sharp claw-shaped pieces of metal protruded. The chain was connected to the hilt so it could be swung around like a whip.

Toushiro barely dodged the chain as it came hurtling toward his face. Lifting his sword he managed to block another swing aimed toward his chest. 'He's really trying to kill me!' He mentally screamed at himself. 'Does he really hate me that much?'

"Shinta, stop!" Hitsugaya shouted out. Shinta ignored him and swung the chain again. "Shinta, what are you doing!" Another voice demanded.

Shinta laughed crazily and responded. "I'm just putting the brat in his place, captain!"

Ukitake made a move to stop Shinta but Toushiro's voice called out to him. "Don't! I'll take care of this."

"That kid and his damn pride." Juushiro complained. He stood back but prepared himself to intercept the blows if needed.

By now, all of the training shinigami had stopped and were gathered around, watching the two fight.

Toushiro warily watched the chain swing around. Then, quicker than the eye could see he twisted his sword around the chain, trapping the chain as it was wound around the thin blade.

Hitsugaya's reiatsu started spilling out, covering the surround areas in ice. "Reign upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!" All of the surrounding shinigami staring in shock as the large dragon flew out from the sword. None knew that the boy had achieved shikai, they all believed him to be a weak boy with no reiatsu. Hitsugaya had become very skilled at concealing his reiatsu, finding it easier if everyone thought him weak.

If the others knew how strong he was, he'd have to move up in the ranks, bringing responsibilities that he didn't want. Unfortunately, his pride was too large to let a loser like Shinta beat him.

'Well at least they don't know I can use bankai.' He thought.

Ukitake watched the spectacle happily. He had known that the boy had great potential. He could sense the vast amounts of reiatsu the boy had as soon as he'd joined the thirteenth division.

The ice crept along the chain, finally reaching the hilt the ice seemed to explode. When the ice reached the hilt the ice paused and then vast amounts of ice erupted up and around the hilt trapping Shinta's hand to the sword.

Shinta gasped in surprise and began hack at the ice with a rock. Finding that his attempts were futile Shinta glared at Hitsugaya and charged forward. Bringing his free hand up he attempted to punch the small shinigami.

Toushiro rolled his eyes at the attempt and grabbed the fist, inches from his face. Staring at him with cold eyes he said, "Give up." Shinta sneered, "Never."

Toushiro merely sighed in annoyance. Bringing Hyourinmaru around, he encased Shinta from the neck down in ice.

Toushiro brought his face close to Shinta's. "This is your warning. Attack me again and I'll kill you." He growled. Sheathing Hyourinmaru he gave a final glare and started walking back to his room.

As soon as he was out of sight everyone seemed to snap out of the shock. "Okay, someone try to break the ice on Shinta. Everyone else resume with training." Ukitake ordered. Satisfied that everyone was following his orders he shunpoed to Hitsugaya's room.

Arriving at the door he knocked. "Toushiro, can we talk?" He called.

"It's Hitsugaya-san!" A muffled voice called from within. Moments later the door opened revealing the child.

……………….

"Hitsugaya-kun, how long have you been able to use shikai?" Ukitake asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Umm, a week?" He replied hesitantly.

"Hitsugaya-kun, don't lie, how long have you really been able to use shikai?" Ukitake said with a smile.

Toushiro sighed in defeat and answered, "Six months."

Ukitake stared, "But, you just graduated four months ago!"

"I trained a lot."

"Apparently so."

Silence reigned in the office as both shinigami drank their tea.

"Can you use bankai yet?" Ukitake asked suddenly.

Hitsugaya choked on his tea and stared at the captain with wide, innocent eyes. "Of course not! I still have trouble controlling shikai!" He explained hastily.

"Hitsugaya-kun, you are a horrible liar. You have almost perfect control over shikai."

"But I can't!" Toushiro insisted.

Ukitake sighed in defeat. "Fine, you can't use bankai. I'll find out eventually." He said the last part with a grin.

……………………..

"So, the kid can use shikai." Shunsui stated. He shook his head with a smile. "Who would've thought that the little boy is stronger than most of his division."

"I bet he can use bankai too, but he insists that he can't." Ukitake said, sipping some of his sake.

"Of course he says he can't, why would a poor kid want to have to do paperwork and have so much responsibility." Soi Fon said.

"You would think he would want to prove himself. Everyone in the division think of him as an annoyance. A stupid little kid. What they don't realize is that kid is strong enough to become a fukataicho, atleast!" Ukitake replied.

"We should send him on a mission, see what he can do." Shunsui said. "Get him against some hollows."

"Hollows wouldn't do much. He'd only need to go to shikai, maybe not even that. The kid is too strong for some regular hallows." Ukitake replied.

"What if he was against something stronger than a hollow?" Shunsui asked slyly.

"Like what?"

"A captain."

"He wouldn't fight a captain. Also he could get seriously hurt." Ukitake replied worriedly.

"What if he didn't know it was a captain and we go easy on him."

"Why don't you leave the poor kid alone?" Soi Fon asked, starting to get annoyed by the ridiculous idea. Although she was curious of how strong the kid was too, not that she'd admit it.

"If the kid is strong enough, we need him. The tenth division is still captain-less. We desperately need higher ranking shinigami." Ukitake argued. For several minutes each of the three captains seemed to ponder this.

"Maybe we should discuss this with the other captains." Shunsui suggested.

"When's the next captains meeting?" Ukitake asked.

"In three days." Soi Fon replied.

……………………

"So, you believe Hitsugaya, Toushiro can use bankai." The head captain said.

"Yes, sir, we want to test him to see how strong he is." Ukitake replied.

"Who will test him, and how?" Yamamoto asked.

"We wish to test him somewhere secluded where he believes no one will see him fight. We want one of the captains to fight him."

"It wouldn't work if a captain fought, Hitsugaya, Toushiro knows all of are distinct reiatsu. He would know right away who it was." Byakuaya explained.

"What if we had him fight menos?" Mayuri asked.

"That would be too dangerous."

"Actually we have developed menos dummies, they are a realistic as actual menos, but they are controlled by the 12th division." Mayuri explained.

"But he could probably take four on at once without using shikai." Ukitake said.

"What if we had him fight fifteen of them?" Mayuri grinned.

……………………

Toushiro worried. 'For some reason I have a feeling something's going to happen today.'

Hyourimaru was restless as well. 'I know what you mean.'

Slinging Hyourimaru onto his back, Toushiro sighed and headed out toward the gate.

From the roof a couple buildings away, Soi Fon held a hell moth. "Hitsugaya, Toushiro is going out to the forest."

"Okay, we're ready." Ukitake replied.

"Why does that dang kid wake up so early." Zaraki complained.

"He doesn't want anyone to see his training." Ukitake replied.

Ten minutes later, Toushiro entered the clearing. Sitting down with Hyourinmaru in front of him he began to meditate.

Meanwhile in the surrounding forest, all twelve captains were hidden, watching the boy.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, release the menos."

Toushiro stood up with a start. 'Menos!'

………………..

"How did he know it was menos, they're still a mile away!"

"He's gone on a couple missions in the real world. He didn't actually fight one but he saw it."

…………………

'Hyourinmaru, I think we have a problem.' Toushiro thought, watching the fifteen menos, gathered around him.

'Really! I didn't notice.' Hyourimaru replied sarcastically.

One of the menos advanced. Pulling out Hyourinmaru he leapt up, slashing the menos in half. The two halves of the menos quickly froze, before shattering.

……………….

"Dang! That kid IS strong…I want to fight him!"

"Zaraki, shut up."

"He killed the menos with one slash!"

"I told you he was strong." Ukitake gloated.

…………………..

Four menos approached at the same time. 'Kuso.'

Hitsugaya brought his blade up, "Reign upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"

Hyourinmaru shot out of the end of the blade. Flying around the menos, he trapped the four in his icy coils. The menos were quickly frozen solid before shattering into miniscule pieces.

……………….

"I think we're gonna need more menos."

………………

'Kuso!' Hitsugaya barely managed to dodge the cero, fired by one of the menos. Rock and debris flew up, scratching Toushiro's arms and face.

He quickly brought Hyourinmaru around killing the offending menos.

The remaining nine menos, gathered in a tighter circle. Each one started charging a cero. Each one fired at the same time, making escape impossible.

"Kuso."

………………….

"Mayuri, we're testing the kid…NOT TRYING TO KILL HIM!!"

"Oops."

……………….

The captains waited anxiously for the dust to clear. Ukitake almost ran out, but Shunsui grabbed his arm and pointed.

There seemed to be a large icy ball covering the boy. After the dust cleared the boy uncovered his shield.

"Wings!" Ukitake exclaimed.

The captains were shocked. The boy can actually use bankai.

Protruding from the boy's back were great icy wings. A tail stretched out behind him. Claws covered his limbs and a long neck stretched above his head. The dragon's eyes glowed red.

Hitsugaya, Toushiro was annoyed. Giant pillars of ice rose around him. Flying up out of the way, he brought the pillars together, trapping the menos, freezing them instantly.

The ice erupted into small fragments, melting almost instantly.

"Okay, whose idea was this!" Toushiro called out into the surrounding woods. Then he turned and stared directly at where Ukitake was hiding. His eyes narrowed

The twelve captains appeared in the clearing surrounding Hitsugaya in a loose circle.

Seeing the white-haired captains smiling sheepishly, he glared. "Ukitake-taicho…" he growled, earning a flinch from said captain.

"Hitsugaya, Toushiro, we need a tenth division captain. You are the only one suited for the job." Yamamoto said, getting right to the point.

"I refuse."

"Please reconsid-" Yamamoto started before Toushiro cut him off.

"No, I'm not ready for a seated position even less a captain position. Maybe in a few years, but not now." Toushiro explained.

"I guess we'll have to accept that for now." Yamamoto submitted.

Toushiro nodded before disappearing.

The captains looked to the head captain questioningly.

"We can't force him to take the captain position. We'll just have to wait and hope he decides to take it on his own." Yamamoto explained.

………………….

Yea! There's chapter two! Poor Toushiro, captains can be so annoying. Anyway, R&R!


	3. Girl in the Woods

Toushiro slowly walked deeper into the forest

Toushiro slowly walked deeper into the forest. 'They want me to become a captain? How can I be a captain, most of them still think of me as a kid.' He mentally ranted. It was unheard of. He had just graduated a few months ago and they already wanted him to be a captain. He just achieved bankai, how the heck was he considered strong enough to become a captain.

He emerged into an unfamiliar clearing, so deep in his thoughts he had taken a wrong turn and ended up in a completely different place. 'This isn't my training ground.' He sighed in annoyance.

The clearing he was in was smaller and had a small creek flowing through it. A few large, flat boulders were littered around the grassy ground. Above him the sky was just beginning to rise, golden rays of light filtering though the foliage.

He walked over to a boulder that hung over the small creek. He settled down on the boulder, Hyouinmaru next to him as he stared up into the treetops. 'So much for keeping my power a secret. By now, probably everyone in Seritei knows.' He groaned at the thought and buried his face into his small hands.

There was a small gasp of surprise from across the river causing Toushiro's head to shoot up. His hand instinctively went to Hyourinmaru's hilt. The gasp was soon followed by a thud and muttered curses.

Hyourinmaru partially slid from it's sheath when the bushes started rustling. The bush parted and a small girl emerged, panting with a few scratches on her arms. She walked out into the clearing and dusted herself off.

Looking up the girl froze when her eyes came to Toushiro, Hyourinmaru halfway out of his sheath. She narrowed her eyes and scowled. "Put that overgrown butter knife away, you'll poke someone's eye out."

Toushiro's eyes narrowed dangerously, but slowly snapped the katana back into the sheath. Hyourinmaru growled in displeasure at the insult. "Who are you." Toushiro practically growled.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing along with, why the hell are you in my spot?" She replied rudely, arms crossed.

Toushiro slung Hyourinmaru across his back and crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you mean, your spot? And I asked you first." His green eyes hardened as he glared at the black-haired girl.

"Yes, my spot, this is where I spend most of my time. I claimed this place long ago. And it's polite to give your name before demanding someone else's." She glared right back.

Thoroughly frustrated now Toushiro snarled, "Fine, I'm Hitsugaya Toushiro!"

The girl smirked and walked over, sitting down on the other side of the creek. "That's better! Okay, I'm Karin." She smiled.

Toushiro's anger vanished to be replaced by confusion. The girl who moments ago was fuming, was now grinning.

"So, Toushiro, what are you doing out here?" Karin asked, pulling an apple from behind a strange shaped rock. She bit into the apple, juice dribbling down her chin. Seeing Toushiro's confusion she grinned, "Come on, sit down, here have an apple." She pulled out another red fruit and threw it to the boy.

Reluctantly Toushiro stepped over the creek and settled next to the strange girl. Noticing his hesitation, Karin chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna bite or anything, I only snapped at you cause I didn't know who you were. So, what are you doing here?"

Toushiro gave her a strange look before answering gruffly, "Wrong turn."

Karin laughed, "So, this your first time out in the big bad woods, Shinigami?"

Toushiro blushed angrily, "No! I was just thinking!"

"Right, about what?" Karin asked.

Toushiro blinked, "Uh, well, stuff." He finished, turning his head away to hide his red cheeks. He took a small bite from the red fruit. Beside him Karin finished her apple and threw the core into the forest.

She took on a thoughtful look, "You look troubled, like something or someone is trying to get you to do something you don't want to."

Toushiro started, "Wh..What do you mean." He stammered out quickly. Karin turned to look at his face.

"Well, someone wants you to do something that you don't want to do. Or maybe you think you can't do it." Karin replied mysteriously.

"How did you…" He trailed off.

"Good guess…experience." Karin replied with a shrug. She got to her feet and started walking back the direction she came.

"Wait! Will I see you again?" Toushiro asked, leaping to his feet. Karin continued walking, but turned her head toward him.

"Maybe, I'm here almost everyday."

……………………..

And so everyday, Toushiro would sneak out each morning and come to visit Karin. He found her to be a very interesting companion. She was never too loud or annoying. It was only a matter of days before they were close friends.

"Hey Snowball, come here!" Karin called one day, as soon as the said snowball entered the clearing.

"Quit calling me Snowball!" He shouted back, stepping over the stream. Karin started walking into the forest. "Come on!" She shouted.

Confused Toushiro followed. "Where are we going?" He asked as Karin lead him deeper and deeper into the forest.

"You'll see." She answered. After several more minutes of walking, the two finally came to another clearing. It was large and open with a large fishing net tied up on one side.

"What are we doing here?" Toushiro asked, staring at the net.

Karin grinned and went over to a small bush. She reached in and pulled out a white ball. "Soccer!" She said excitedly.

"Huh?" Was Toushiro's incredibly intelligent reply. Karin rolled her eyes.

"Soccer is a game, you know, those things that people do for fun." She explained.

Toushiro glowered and gave her a mock-confused look.

Karin chuckled. "Oh I'm sorry, were my words to small for you to understand? Okay, soccer is a recreational activity that human beings do for…for…recreation!"

"Oh, I never knew!" Toushiro replied sarcastically. "Anyway, how do you play?"

"Well, you try to get the ball into the net. You can't use your hands, but you can use pretty much any other part of your body. The person who is trying to get it into the net must get it past the goalie, the one who tries to stop the ball. The goalie can use their hands." Karin walked over to the goal and threw the ball to Toushiro.

"Okay, you kick first, try and get the ball past me!" Karin stood in front of the net and took a fighting stance.

"Are we fighting or playing?" He asked with a raised brow at her stance.

"Shut up and kick the damn ball." She retorted.

Toushiro walked over to the ball and gave it a few experimental kicks. Satisfied that the ball wasn't going to explode or something he started dribbling it around.

"Quit fooling around and kick the ball!" Karin called impatiently.

"Fine!" He kicked the ball as hard as he could toward the goal. Karin leapt to the side and managed to catch the ball.

With a smug smirk Karin tossed the ball back at the shinigami. "Nice try."

Toushiro glared at the girl, as he dropped the ball to the ground. Before she could blink, Toushiro disappeared, only to reappear a second later in front of Karin, a smirk on his face as he kicked the ball into the goal.

"Hey, no fair, you can't use shunpoe!!"

………………………

Yes, I know this chapter is shorter and I'm sorry, I pre wrote the other two chapters and worked on them for like two weeks, so I don't think you want to wait that long for a friking update.

I'm sorry to say, but school starts in a little more then a week, so updates will be coming more slowly. Also I'll be gone this weekend so I won't be able to work on them, so the next update might take a little longer. Sorry! I feel so terrible, I know how horrible it is to have to wait for a stupid update.


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